On the trail of an elusive Blacksmith

by Jackie Dorothy

Jim O'Rourke, a sheep wagon enthusiast, was in Thermopolis Thursday searching for authentic wagons. During his three days in the Big Horn Basin, he was especially hoping to find one built by a Worland blacksmith, J. Wessel.

The Sheep Wagon was first invented in Rawlins in the 1880's, he explained, but by 1910, blacksmiths in rural towns were building their own versions of the popular 'home on the range.' J. Wessel was one such blacksmith and O'Rourke's goal is to find Wessel's maker's mark that all sheep wagon builders put on their handiwork.

"My quest here is to figure out how quick this J. Wessel in Worland came into the picture. After a while people began to say, why should I order a wagon from Rawlins and ship it all the way up here when we have our own blacksmiths?" O'Rourke said, explaining how J. Wessel would have first gotten into the business of sheep wagons.

With this mission in mind, O'Rourke's first stop was at the Hot Springs County Museum to identify the wagon housed in the Museum Annex on 700 Broadway.

O'Rourke's examination of the museum's sheep wagon confirmed that it was authentic and not a replica. He quickly discarded several possibilities for builders, pointing out details he found on the sheep wagon such as the style of latch and absence of a food box on the back. Each sheep wagon has their own unique characteristics that can also act as the blacksmith's signature.

Based on the placement of the window on the left side of the sheep wagon, O'Rourke believed that it was one of the wagon's he was looking for. However, he was unable to find J. Wessel's mark to confirm his suspicions. Until he finds the blacksmith's maker's mark, O'Rourke's search continues.

He was pleased with what he found. During his time in Thermopolis, he identified an authentic Shulte Sheep Wagon from Casper in a private collection. He suspects another old wagon he examined was built in Cokeville by a blacksmith he has yet to find a name for.

"My goal is to write a book about these wagons as a guide for restoration," he said, "We want people to stop remodeling their sheep wagons and instead restore them to how the blacksmiths originally made them."